


The earth and the sky

by plopdropflop



Series: our little home [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Fluff, Gen, Idols, One Shot, Park Jisung (NCT)-centric, Random & Short, Self-Indulgent, Zhong Chen Le-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25529572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plopdropflop/pseuds/plopdropflop
Summary: Jisung, who lives with his head in the clouds, and Chenle, who is as down to earth as one can be. Jisung, a year younger, and Chenle, a year older. Jisung, who goes to bed every night at the dorms, and Chenle, who does the same at his house.The distance between them will never matter.(Or alternatively; a brief exploration of the beautiful dynamic between the two youngest of NCT).
Relationships: Park Jisung & Zhong Chen Le, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Series: our little home [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660615
Comments: 18
Kudos: 111





	The earth and the sky

**Author's Note:**

> This is pure self indulgence

It's cold, even through all the layers the stylists put him in, even through their manager's scarf and Jeno's jacket thrown haphazardly on him. Jisung rubs his hands vigorously over his arms, reaching for any semblance of warmth, letting out a shuddering breath.

Arms wrap around him from behind, a familiar weight settling on his shoulder, and Jisung scrunches his nose as strands of hair tickle his face. It's different from the sharpness of the usual bleach fried hair, and he welcomes the change, albeit still wishing Chenle wouldn't snuggle up so far into his space in the first place.

"What are you doing?" Jisung grumbles, even as his hands fly up to grip onto Chenle's forearms, swaying a bit from the added weight.

Chenle giggles in his ears; even this late into night, when the rest of them look dead on their feet, he finds it in himself to be lively. Jisung himself feels as if he'll die if he takes another step. He's been lounging around as the staff packs up, observing everything through half-awake eyes. Everyone had left him alone; an unspoken rule they all followed was to never push anyone who was visibly in a mood.

Chenle doesn't grace him with a reply, instead joining him in his people-watching past time silently. The staff move about, busy and efficient as usual, though significantly less in number as most of them have already left. Their managers are leaning against the walls, mirroring Jisung, as they watch Jisung's hyungs with an amused sort of exasperation. Said hyungs were huddled together in the middle, all fond and disgusting gazes thrown at each other, though not as boisterous as they normally would've been. The late hour is getting to them too. It's a good thing it's their last night on set; they've been promised a break tomorrow.

They idle like that for a while, until one of the staff calls out to them, "Jisung, Chenle, it's time to leave!"

His steps are slow and measured, careful not to drop Chenle in his tired haze. Chenle, instead of dislodging himself, has taken the liberty to jump on his back fully, arms and legs wrapped around him like a clingy octopus. It does wonders for the chill he was feeling, warmth covering him like a blanket, but Jisung really hasn't hit the gym enough to carry people around with the same ease Jeno or Jaemin can.

Chenle giggles at his plight, hopping off as they arrive in front of the cars, and throws his arms around Jisung's neck once more.

"Bye!" he says cheerfully, and Jisung can only manage a half-hearted wave as Chenle ducks into his car with Haechan, the door closing in an instant. He knows Chenle wouldn't mind his lacklustre response.

He himself falls asleep the moment he's sat down and buckled up in the car leaving to the dorm. He rests against Renjun's shoulders, somewhat aware of the fond cooing around him, and the hand carding through his hair from Jaemin, and it's all it takes for him to lull into dreamland.

Somewhere, kilometres apart, he knows Chenle is doing the same.  
  


He's always been an early-riser, regardless of when he sleeps. He had slept through the entire car ride home, briefly waking up when Jeno helped him walk to their dorm, and when Jaemin had tried to remove his makeup as gently as possible.

He rubs his eyes as the sun greets him through the blinds. Renjun is merely a bump under the covers in the bed next to him, and Jisung knows he will remain that way at least until mid-afternoon. A Jisung of another day would have no qualms about waking him up, or any of the others for that matter, but he knows they're all genuinely exhausted and deserves the break.

He tip-toes out of the room with his phone clutched in hand, scrolling through the replies he received to all the texts he sent last night, bored out of his mind at the set. Obnoxious kissing emojis from Jaemin, an eloquent "haha loser" from Renjun, an indecipherable string of letters from Donghyuck and nothing from Jeno.

He had never texted Chenle. Rarely does, in fact. It's strange. Jisung knows he's all the stereotypes people associate with introverts, all the synonyms that apply to shy, just not a very social person in general but all that goes out the window with Chenle.

Because with Chenle, he likes to _call._

Some might say he's being overdramatic, but in fourteen year old Jisung's eyes, calling was the third most terrifying thing to exist, next to ghosts and cockroaches. He remembers begging Jeno to place all his orders for food, pleading at Jaemin to call the manager in his stead, and blocking Renjun and Donghyuck's number when they started calling him too much for his liking.

It has gotten better. But even now, the only phone calls he willingly makes are:

A) For food; hours of gruelling practices made him realize he would kill a man if it meant getting his fingers greasy with a burger. A phone call paled in comparison.

B) To annoy his hyungs on livestream. Made more fun because twitter gets flooded with posts about how _cute_ Jisung is, really fuelling his ego.

C) To keep in touch with Chenle.

The third one is very relevant now, as he waits for Chenle to pick up while rummaging through the fridge for any leftovers. He's just grabbed a plate of half-eaten cake when Chenle's sleepy voice greets, "hello?".

Jisung grins, and launches into a tale of what Chenle missed last night. Long, drawn out sentences with miniscule details that half asleep Jisung had managed to observe, like the cars he had seen in passing or when a particularly harsh bump had jolted him into Renjun's lap. Jisung talks and talks and talks, because that's what he's best at, what he enjoys doing, and Chenle pays full attention, because beneath his loud, exurberant personality lies patience and adoration for anything involving Jisung, especially his love for anything and everything.

For as talkative as Jisung wants to be on a given day, Chenle will always be there to listen.  
  


"You put the butter in, _then_ the sugar!" Jisung cries out, grabbing the mixing bowl away from Chenle's hands, terrified that they had misread the instructions.

"It literally doesn't matter!" Chenle retorts back, pulling at Jisung's arm roughly, though his face is bright with amusement.

"Ah, but what if we mess this up? Jaemin hyung will kill us," Jisung says nervously as he allows Chenle to snag the bowl back, looking around the spotless kitchen that he knows Jaemin had scrubbed clean only a night ago. The only reason they were even allowed into the kitchen today was because Jisung had promised Jaemin a fair share of the brownies they were going to make. Na Jaemin's one weakness: sugar.

Chenle ignores him as he continues whisking the mixture, eyeing the ipad screen displaying the instructions with utmost concentration. Baking isn't something he's familiar with, so he is being more careful than usual.

Something ducks into his vision, and retreats just as quick.

"Wow! Chenle that tastes really good!" Jisung exclaims, licking his finger clean of the batter he smagged.

Chenle stares, gobsmacked. "Jisung, that's just... butter and sugar."

Jisung smiles. "It's still good! Wow! Imagine how good the finished product will be!"

Chenle rolls his eyes, though the burst of fondness in his heart is hard to ignore. Jisung cheers on him the same way throughout the entire process; when he cracks the eggs without stray eggshells, when he folds the flour in without spilling onto the counter, when he puts the tray into the oven without burning himself.

It gets even more expressive when Jisung actually manages to eat the brownies, praising him between every bite, devouring the tray — including Jaemin's promised share — with an almost concerning speed.

But, Chenle supposes, that's just how their relationship worked. For every step Chenle takes, Jisung will be right behind to cheer him on.  
  


Staring at the way Chenle is enamoured with his phone, Jisung feels a tiny bit... not _jealous_... but maybe sort of bitter that he's not getting Chenle's full attention?

"That's called jealousy," Jeno supplies helpfully from the sofa, legs thrown up onto the coffee table, munching on churros, fully relaxed as if he isn't calling Jisung out in the worst way.

Jisung tries his best to glare at him, though he knows Jeno is right. He's met with three equally amused stares; Jeno, — smiling bright and innocent — Jaemin, — looking at him with the parental gaze that Jisung knows is going to inevitably lead to either aching cheeks or a full belly — and Renjun, who isn't even hiding his glee at how pathetic Jisung is.

So instead he sticks his tongue out at the three entangled on the couch — spectating Jisung like some sort of football match — and turns his attention back on Chenle, who is _still_ busy on the phone.

"Who are you texting anyways?" Jisung asks, trying to mask his distate at how fast Chenle's fingers are flying over the screen.

"Mm... Felix... We're planning to meet up," Chenle answers distractedly.

Burning hot envy explodes within him. He can hear muffled chuckles from the trio behind him, but ignores it in favor of stomping towards Chenle.

" _We_ haven't eaten out together in a while," Jisung huffs.

Chenle snorts, glancing up at him with twinkling eyes, well aware of what Jisung is feeling. "Ah, Park Jisung, we can go out too. But have you considered making other friends too?"

Jisung hums. He has Chenle, and he has his hyungs, does he really need anymore? He's content with what he has, and sure he's on good terms with some idols but actual friendship is a bit too much for him.

Chenle shrugs at his lack of response. It's fine. Chenle can socialize all he wants, and Jisung can be jealous all the wants. At the end of the day, they'll return to each other once more.  
  


Sometimes idol life is hard. Jisung loves it, loves the adrenaline, loves performing and everything that comes with it. He wholeheartedly adores his career, but it's still _hard_. And there's only so much he can take before he inevitably tires, and there's only so much his hyungs can do to help him. No matter how much Renjun tries to get him to talk, no matter how much Jeno tries keeping him company, no matter how much Jaemin tries to coddle him, sometimes it just doesn't work. Sometimes, Jisung just needs the comfort of a specific someone.

Which is what led them here, on the rooftop after a late night practice session, staring at the sky void of stars, curled into each other's warmth.

"I think I messed up the other day, Chenle," Jisung whispers, thinking back to a performance they did where he just... couldn't hit the pops right.

Chenle smiles sadly, aware that this was coming, and he shifts a little so Jisung rests against his chest.

"I don't think anyone noticed," Chenle replies, not denying the fact that Jisung did mess up. It would just made Jisung indigant if he did so, and would make him close off. Most of Jisung's self-criticism was correct, it's just that he tended to let it directly affect his confidence.

"And you'll do better tomorrow," He adds on as an afterthought, because he knows it's true. Jisung was too determined, too proud of his craft to repeat mistakes. Chenle knows he just needs a good nights rest before he can give himself that push.

But then again, it seems Jisung isn't aware that it's true. He spills all his worries. Everything he's built up over the week, about his voice, about his body, about his skills, _everything_.

And Chenle listens, soothing a hand through Jisung's hair. And when the rambling turns into silence, he tells Jisung everything he needs to hear. Tells him that he's human, he's allowed to make mistakes, to learn, to _grow_. That perfection was impossible and all that matters is the journey there, the effort, the improvements. And Jisung listens, because he is nothing if not someone who appreciates other perspectives, other worldviews, especially from someone he cherishes as much as Chenle.

For every bit that Jisung overthinks, for every bit of anxiety he feels, every inch of insecurity hidden in him, there will always be Chenle there to shield him with soothing words and loving praises.  
  
  


It's somewhat of a running joke between them. How they were polar opposites of each other, how they were both so _different_.

But for Jisung, it was never like that. In the room lit only by a flickering television, the only warmth being Chenle tucked against his side, Jisung thinks. Thinks about how he considers them complimentary, their contrasting traits two sides of one whole. One cannot exist without the other. Where one falls short, the other will be there to catch him. Where one runs ahead, the other will be there to support him. Everything they do is countered by the other, and rather than it going from a positive to a negative, it balances.

He smiles, content at the picture his mind paints. For as long as they were together, they could do anything.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I just realized that there isnt a minimum word count for fanfic LOL I always tried so hard to up the word count but now i realize its not really necessary
> 
> Please do leave kudos and comments if you can, even one word comments can fuel me for days!! 
> 
> Any other dream dynamics you want me to write for?


End file.
